Fire Protection Systems-Bachelor of Science Essay

1. Specifications for a dry pipe sprinkler system in a cold storage warehouse The fire protection system to be supplied based on these specifications is dry pipe sprinkler Related works include electrical installations, walls penetrations sealing as well as the relevant drawings and calculations. To assure quality, all materials designs and works shall be supervised by qualified person (NICET level III certificate). Calculations are to be based on NFPA 13 and no detail shall be left or assumed. Sprinklers shall be availed in elevators and stairwells. The sprinkler performance shall be tested after installation. The new system of sprinkling design should meet all pre-set codes and standards for effective performance. The system components and devices shall be recommended by under writer Lab in ULFPE directory. Minimum experience of the contractor is 5 years. Layout must be supervised by experienced person and quality assurance done by a different qualified person. Submittals shall be done in one package, reviewed and then signed as required. The system drawings with all relevant required information by NFPA shall be provided. Calculations for the system’s remote areas with regard to one critical light hazard and ordinary hazard areas shall be done as requires by NFPA. Relevant compliance certificates shall be submitted. They include certificate of quality assurance, experience, test certificate for contractor and the various respective NICET III certificates. Again, all design and installation documents shall be required as issued by NFPA as well as the contract drawings. The dry pipe system sprinkler shall be piped in accordance with NFIA 13. All valves (control, drain, alarm and check valves) should meet the fine specifications as listed in UL. The sprinkler installed shall UL listed, its location strategic and its temperature appropriate for the room in is installed. Listing of each sprinkler shall be based on the classification of the room in which it is installed. The rooms are classified based on their occupancy. The dry systems switch and all tamper switches have to be linked to the fire alarm control panel as required by NFPA code 71 and 72 (Zalosh, 2003, pp. 166-168). 2. The reasons why a builder or architect might give a sprinkler contractor an incomplete set of contract drawings. There are a number of reasons that have been placed to explain why an architect may end up giving a contractor for sprinklers incomplete contract drawings. First, the builder or the architect may lack the competence in the engineering field. He may not the capacity to make workable designs for fire fighting equipment and for sprinklers in particular. Again, the architect may not have the relevant experience with respect to designing various systems for buildings that are of varying sizes and that may have varying needs for fire fighting systems. Through experience, a builder is capable of easily spotting an incomplete drawing. This is because most experienced architects have customized their expertise by developing check lists for the various requirements that make a contact drawing complete. In case they are in hurry, these check lists can fruitfully assist them in ensuring all important components in a contract drawn for a sprinkler contractor is complete. It is true to say that most architects specialize in designing houses and most leave minimum provisions for structures that are installed long after the house is competed. This is because most architects do not have an idea for what purpose the house they are designing shall be used. The fire fighting systems are installed as the need arise depending on the use for which the house shall be used. Sometimes, although rarely, some architects once they spot errors they had made in their designs, they may distort the designs to cover up their errors and this way, they evade possible blame for such errors (Gagnon, 1998, p. 107). This blame is avoided because it can cause serious impacts on the company contracted to design, given that they are in business and they need to keep their reputation. However, this action is against the requirements of the Code of Conduct for engineers. 3. The response time for the Californian fire department According to the Californian fire control and suppression department, the response time for this department vary considerably. This was evident from the various reports obtained from the department. The response time as discussed here denotes the period from the time when the department is informed about a fire incident through the preparation for take off until the time they reach the fire site. The major explanation given for this difference in response time was due to the various circumstances surrounding each fire break case. This could range from issues like distance, accessibility, appropriateness of the equipment available and the preparedness of the fire fighting crew in the given station. Response time Based on the principles of effective fire control, suppression and management, there is no specified time which can be termed as the ideal response time. The ideal response time is the best time possible within which a crew will get to the burning site and start acting upon the fire, in the given circumstances. For this ideal response time to be gotten there is need of strong spirit of team work from all parties concerned, starting with the commanders at the station to the fire fighters in action (Ammons, 2001, p. 157). Communication has to be most effective and the message about the incidence must be clearly and coherently communicated and information about what, where and when should be precisely given for response time to be as short as possible. Accessibility will be determined by the location of the burning property. Air crafts may be used where the fire is deep in the forests and land vehicles may be used where the site is accessible by road. Response time is usually prolonged in cases where fire is in a slum or where the estate planning was too poor as to allow accessibility in times of emergency. Some times, the planning could have provided for this but poor management of the available structures such as bridges could be the barrier. Generally, an exponential function is the result of correlating the damage caused by fire with the time it takes before suppression efforts begin. This means the more time you take, the little you should expect to rescue. Therefore, it is essentially basic to respond within the first few minutes from the time you receive the signal and the approach should of course avoid panic. The fire should be fought professionally. Although the response time for this department appear to be timely, it is advisable for companies relying on this facility for fire management to install their sprinkler fire fighting systems to avoid any loss that can result to delayed response from the fire department. Although this may not fully content the fire, it can substantially suppress the fire before the crew from the department arrives, therefore preventing total losses. 4. Measure the height of your house from ground level to the highest ceiling. What water supply must be available to supply 35 psi for a sprinkler at the highest ceiling? Pressure A= Pressure B+ Pressure C , Force ‘B’ must correspondingly increase to maintain the equilibrium balance of forces which in turn translates to an outlet pressure rise. Therefore a maximum water supply pressure of 100 psi is required. 5. Actions taken by the fire service when fighting flammable liquid storage tank fires with fixed water spray protection installed and without fixed water spray protection installed. The fire brigade commander professionally and quickly determines the kind of flammable liquid that is burning, its immediate properties such as density as compared to that of water. In cases where the water is denser, it is mostly avoided because it can potentially worsen the situation. The commander expertly and in no time determines the flash point of the burning fluid. If the liquid has the potential of burning when it mixes with air upon ignition, the commander may command the use of water to prevent reaching the flash point of that liquid. When the fire is detected in time, the spraying of water using the fixed apparatus will but not in large quantities will lower the temperature in the room and thus reduce the potential of the ambient room temperature to cause the ignition as this has been known to cause the ignition of most flammable liquids whose flash point is low. It is necessary to close the container from which the vapors are coming from as the ignited vapor can burn back to the liquid, thus resulting to a fatal explosion. In cases where there is no fixed water spray, the portable water sprayers can be used to spray water (but not to pour because the fluid will float on water and even burn more) to the atmosphere and even near the liquid containers to lower the temperature. It is important to assess the risk in both cases by referring to the flammability characteristics of the fluid in question. Again, both cases require a person to first wear personal protection gear such as eye protection equipment, gloves on hands to prevent burning in case you come in contact with the flammable liquid, and also additional protective clothing for the whole body. Safety shield is useful in cases where a potential explosion is most likely or an exothermic reaction is most likely. Generally, the actions done here include the transfer of the flammable liquid to a working fume board if possible. Any potential source of ignition should be completely eliminated (Fitzgerald, 2004, pp. 422-424). Then locate all the safety equipment. Use appropriate mode of alerting the nearby people. The use of water as a fire extinguisher in case the fire has been ignited should not be attempted but instead, the use of dry chemical extinguishers can be suitably used. Alternatively, the use of liquefied carbon dioxide can be effective on these flammable liquid fires. Ask for assistance from the nearby fire facility by calling the emergency numbers. 6. Fire alarm systems in a factory Fire alarms noted in the factory were of various kinds. First, the M-Fire Alarm system which had manual call points. They were placed mostly near escape routes and they largely lacked an automatic way of detecting fire. It mainly relied on a person raising alarm. In case of fire disaster L-Fire alarm system which was designed to preserve life. It could enable non affected people in a factory on fire to safely escape unhurt. It had automatic sensors of a possible fire disaster, beacons and sirens. The third kind is P fire alarm system which is designed such that it can simultaneously protect life of building occupants; protect the property inside and most importantly the building itself by having the ability to automatically dial out the emergency number of the fire brigade. The available fire alarm systems identified could also be classified either as single stage system or double stage system. The single stage system when activated could transmit a signal in the whole building such that all the occupants in the building become aware of the fire danger the soonest possible. The two stage system could first release a characteristic alert signal to all occupying staff. If the staffs confirm the existence of the fire, they activate the alarm signal. In case the component alert is false, the alarm can be silenced and the system reset. According to the fire protection engineer, the M fire alarm system was used because it could serve the whole chain of factory buildings. L fire alarm system was to ensure timely evacuation and that there was no loss of life as a result of inconveniences. The system requires use of fire resistant materials in the factory to avoid fast spread of fire in the factory which is common in most factories. On the other approach to identifying the alarm system in the factory, the two stage system was installed based on the fact that most industrial workers especially those in the offices may panic very easily if they abruptly learn about a fire in the building they are in. This system was seen a necessary measure to reduce the possible effects of false alarms. Finally, the installation of single stage alarm systems in the factory sites where most machines are in operation was based on the idea that the fuel for running the machines could easily catch fire and lead to a very rapid spread and therefore this form of alarm would avoid any form of delay (Gill, 1997, p. 97). The performance objectives of the company in using these systems is to attain fastest response to fire break in industry while keeping the panic associated with raising fire alarms as minimum as possible to the senior management and other support staff in the factory offices. 7. How the first Montreal Protocol agreement has been modified since 1987. The Montreal protocol meant to address the issues related to the production of substances that result to depletion of the critical ozone layer has been modified several times. Since its signing in 1987 by only 25 nations, the membership tally has rose up to one hundred and sixty eight nations as of now. Much of these changes are as a result of more awareness of the effects of the various halogen substances and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the ozone layer. This has been obtained through intensive scientific research. The major changes in this original protocol were noted in the year 1990 in London, 1992 in Copenhagen, 1995 in Vienna and the most recent was done in 1997 in the city of Montreal. The amendments were made to speed up the withdrawal and abstinence from the production of substances that deplete the ozone layer. First, the production and the use of halogen matter have a phase-out completely on the first day of January, 1994. Exactly two years later, the production and use of other ozone depleting substances was phased out. These substances include CFCs, tetra chlorides of carbon, methyl chloroform and others like complex compounds of hydrogen, bromine, fluorine and carbon (hydrobromofluorocarbons). It is important to note that some companies in certain nations were exempted from the above discussed bans while compounds of H, Cl, F and carbon are to be phased by the year 2020. As more knowledge continue to be obtained from scientific research, the current ozone depleting potentials of various substances shall continue to reviewed from time to time and the best standards shall be used. The Montreal Protocol has resulted to a decline of chlorinated hydrocarbons while the controlled use of hydrocarbons has resulted to leveled trend in emission levels. They have been predicted to begin declining by 2020 (Newton, 1995, p. 1). 8. Aqueous and non-aqueous agents are employed by the Californian fire service, Aqueous agents used First, the most commonly used aqueous substance in fire fighting is water itself. It can either be pure or salty but mostly pure water is rarely used. Ice has been sparingly used but it is effective in keeping room temperature low below the flash point of most flammable liquids. However, an array of hydrated chemicals has been developed for use in the fire fighting exercise. Most of the agents that are used in this chemical formulations include chlorinated metaxylenol, some forms of Urea, heteropolysaccharide-7 substance, aqueous solution of equal amount of sodium decylsulfate and sodium octylsulfate (both used in equal amounts in terms of their molar masses, other compounds like monobutyl ether made of diethylene glycol as well as the hydrated form of isopropyl mixture. Other chemicals used may vary narrowly from this typical composition to contain fewer compounds than these or include a few more compounds such as ammonia and magnesium sulfate. Non aqueous agents used The most commonly used non water agents in fighting fire in this fire service was Liquefied carbon dioxide which is packed in sturdy metallic cylinders and let out through some nozzles at the top of the cylinders. It is popularly known for its effectiveness in fighting and suppressing fires on flammable liquid tanks and containers. It acts by cutting off the oxygen supply from the atmosphere by forming a blanket like layer over the fire. In additions, these kinds of fires can also be handled by the use of dry chemical extinguishers. Fire beaters are commonly used in the grassland wildfires in California and they are used by trained fire beating crew who must wear appropriate garments and gears that are not only resistant to the fire itself but also protective from the painful burning characteristic of open-fire fighting. The criteria for determining the kind of agent to be used is based on the kind of fire (in the open or in a building), the kind of material burning (flammable liquid or wood or plastic or any other) and also on the resources available. Curbed fires can be suppressed by adequate water spray while fire from a fuel tank can be suppressed by used of liquid carbon dioxide. The agent selected should be the most appropriate under the prevailing conditions (Schwartz & Perry, 2007, p. 334). 9. Gift from a client or other person with whom one has a professional relationship, which must be reported to an employer, those if accepted could create a conflict of interest and state the justification. a. A pen with promotional advertising on it. It should be reported because if kept as a secret, other parties with similar interest as this client may see this as a campaign for this particular client’s company. b. A promotional videotape- it should be reported but it has no potential for causing conflict of interest. Reporting will allow for analyzing of the message in the tape and whether it is acceptable or not. c. A book of engineering data – this should be reported because the information contained in this book has not been established to be in conformity with the applicable standards for engineering. If not reported, it can cause a conflict of interest because if an engineer beliefs in the data, he is likely to have conflicts with others who use the preset standards. d. An engraved briefcase – it should also be reported because the material used to make it may be unsafe. Since briefcases are carried at work, the engraved briefcase may act as a source of irradiations which can potentially form a source of ignition for liquids with low splash points. e. A car – This should be reported because if not reported, it may be perceived as a reward for favor done before which is not acceptable according to the engineering code of ethics. This client may also be malicious and implant explosive materials in the car, and set it to explode when parked near the factory. Reporting will give room for inspection to avoid such terrorism minded clients or persons. f. A calendar- This should not be reported and cannot be a source of conflict if reported because it does not feature any where within the codes of ethics. However, if it contains advertisements of a company with which you have business relations, it should be reported because it has the potential of influencing the decisions of the engineer and may be seen as unfair by other companies with which you have similar business ties. g. A sterling silver pen with your name engraved on it- it should not be accepted if the person is involved in fraudulent enterprise as stipulated in the Rules of Practice number 1d. The engraved material may be radioactive and thus form a hazard especially when working in factories with highly flammable liquid tanks. h. An encyclopedia. This should be accepted and never reported because it has general information and the information contained is usually standardized and can be believed to be true. In case it is not reliable, the publisher can be held responsible (NSPE, 2003, pp. 1-2). 10. About an article related to unethical conduct The article is about a company that was involved in corrupt tendering process. The way it obtained road construction tenders was questionable by its competitors. This unethical engineering conduct has led to several impacts. First, there has been pressure from the other registered road constructors to de-register this constructor and soon, this individual company may be out of business. The engineers directly involved in the scandal may as well be deregistered. Since this has been highlighted by the press, the whole society may lose the trust they had on the engineering society unless a stern action is taken. This is against the professionalism of engineering and it is ‘staining’ the profession. This act is against the code of conduct for engineers since they are required to execute their duties honestly. The law also requires them to conduct themselves honorably and ethically and always act within the law. This is meant to retain the reputation and most importantly the usefulness of the profession. The ethical actions that should be taken against the perpetrators of this act include appearing for questioning to prove the misconduct, and if found guilty, the perpetrators should be sentenced as per the law (NSPE, 2003, pp. 1-2). The engineers involved should also be de-registered from the society for engineers for ‘staining’ the society and violating the rules they know very well. References Ammons, D. (2001). Assessing Municipal Performance. US: Sage. Fitzgerald, W. (2004). Building Fire Performance Analysis. New York: J. Wiley and Sons. Gagnon, R. M. (1998). Special Hazard Design. New York: Thomson Delmar. Gill, P. (1997). Factory Management and Maintenance. Michigan: McGraw Hill. National humanity of skilled engineers (NSPE). (2003). Code of Ethics for Engineers. Alexandria: NSPE. Newton, D. C. (1995). ‘The Ozone Dilemma’, The Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia: Columbia University press.